Cheap cabin bags that actually fit
Budget-friendly hand luggage only saves you money if it clears the gate. Every bag below is priced under £20.00 and measured against the published allowance of the airline you are flying — not a rounded-up marketing size. Sorted lowest price first, in stock today, with FREE Express UK delivery on orders over £5.
33 bags, lowest price first
All under-seat bags
52×33×18 cm · 40L · 0.5kg
Fits Ryanair cabin bag +14 more
42×26×14 cm · 19L · 0.5kg
Fits easyJet free underseat +14 more
40×25×20 cm · 20L · 0.5kg
Fits easyJet free underseat +14 more
40×25×20 cm · 20L · 0.5kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
40×20×25 cm · 19L · 0.5kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
40×22×24 cm · 20L · 0.5kg
Fits Eurowings free underseat +11 more
36×26×14 cm · 17L · 0.3kg
Fits easyJet free underseat +14 more
36×26×14 cm · 17L · 0.3kg
Fits easyJet free underseat +14 more
45×29×13 cm · 17L · 0.3kg
Fits easyJet free underseat +14 more
45×29×13 cm · 17L · 0.3kg
Fits easyJet free underseat +14 more
40×25×20 cm · 20L · 0.35kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
40×25×20 cm · 20L · 0.35kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
45×29×13 cm · 17L · 0.3kg
Fits easyJet free underseat +14 more
45×35×20 cm · 32L · 0.5kg
Fits easyJet free underseat +14 more
40×30×20 cm · 24L · 0.5kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
40×30×20 cm · 24L · 0.5kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
40×30×20 cm · 24L · 0.5kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
40×25×20 cm · 20L · 0.5kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
40×25×20 cm · 20L · 0.6kg
Fits Jet2 free underseat +14 more
40×25×20 cm · 20L · 0.6kg
Fits Jet2 free underseat +14 more
40×25×20 cm · 20L · 0.5kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
40×30×20 cm · 21L · 0.5kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
40×25×20 cm · 20L · 0.6kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
40×25×20 cm · 20L · 0.6kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
40×25×20 cm · 20L · 0.6kg
Fits easyJet free underseat +14 more
45×36×20 cm · 30L · 0.5kg
Fits easyJet free underseat +12 more
45×36×20 cm · 30L · 0.5kg
Fits easyJet free underseat +12 more
43×26×21 cm · 24.3L · 0.68kg
Fits easyJet cabin bag +11 more
43×26×21 cm · 24.3L · 0.68kg
Fits easyJet cabin bag +11 more
43×26×21 cm · 24L · 0.68kg
Fits easyJet cabin bag +11 more
40×25×20 cm · 20L · 0.75kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
40×30×20 cm · 30L · 1.5kg
Fits Ryanair free underseat +14 more
55×40×20 cm · 45L · 0.7kg
Fits easyJet cabin bag +12 more
What £10, £15 and £20 actually buy you
Around £10–£12
A soft, lined polyester holdall or backpack built to a specific allowance — usually 40 × 25 × 20 cm or 40 × 30 × 20 cm. One main compartment, a front zip pocket, a shoulder strap or trolley sleeve, and a weight of well under a kilo so almost all of your allowance is available for what you pack. This is the tier that turns an unexpected charge at the airport into a one-off purchase, and it is where most of our range sits.
Around £12–£15
The same sizing discipline with more structure: padded laptop sleeves, mesh side pockets, better zips, and backpack sizes such as 45 × 29 × 13 cm and 36 × 26 × 14 cm that slide under tighter seats. A 36 × 26 × 14 cm bag is inside the free personal-item allowance of all fifteen airlines we track, which makes it the most flexible thing you can own at this price.
£15–£20
Wheeled under-seat trolleys and larger 45 × 36 × 20 cm cabin bags — the easyJet free allowance exactly. You are paying for wheels, a telescopic handle and a bit more capacity rather than a designer name. Above this range the catalogue moves into hard-shell cabin and hold cases, which is a different purchase from fee-proofing a weekend flight.
The size your airline lets you take for free
Affordable only means affordable for the airline you are actually on. These are the four UK carriers most people fly, the size each one lets through free, and the lowest-priced bag we hold that fits it.
20 bags in this range travel free on Ryanair, from £9.99.
Ryanair rules27 bags in this range travel free on easyJet, from £8.99.
easyJet rules20 bags in this range travel free on Wizz Air, from £9.99.
Wizz Air rulesOne bag here, or one charge at the gate
These are the published charges for a bag that has to be checked at the gate, alongside the lowest-priced bag we stock that stays inside that airline’s free allowance. The gap is the entire reason this page exists.
| Airline | Free allowance | If it doesn’t fit | Bags here from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | 40×30×20 cm | £70–£75 | £9.99 |
| easyJet | 45×36×20 cm | £48–£60 | £8.99 |
| Wizz Air | 40×30×20 cm | around €65 | £9.99 |
| Vueling | 40×30×20 cm | €60–€75 for an oversize under-seat bag, €110–€140 for an oversize cabin bag | £9.99 |
| Eurowings | 40×30×25 cm | €60 / £51 | £9.99 |
| Transavia | 40×30×20 cm | Around €70 per piece | £9.99 |
| Aer Lingus | 40×30×20 cm | €35 | — |
| Norwegian | 40×30×20 cm | No fixed fine — the bag goes in the hold at the published rate, plus £12 per kg of excess | £9.99 |
| Air France | 40×30×15 cm | No fixed fine — the bag goes in the hold and fees may apply | — |
Charges are taken from each airline’s published baggage policy and change frequently — they can also vary by route, travel date and when you book. Always check the airline’s current policy before travelling.
Already own a bag? Check it before you buy another
Enter the outside measurements and the Fit Checker tells you instantly which of the twelve airlines it travels free on, and which will charge you. Free, no account needed — the best-value bag of all is the one you already have.
Questions worth asking at this price
Are affordable cabin bags any good?+
For hand luggage the job is narrow: hold a few days of clothes, survive the overhead locker, and be the right size. A £12 polyester holdall does that as reliably as a £60 one. What you give up at this price is a hard shell, a lifetime warranty and premium wheels — none of which matter for a bag that lives under the seat in front of you. What you must not give up is the size, which is why every bag on this page is listed with its exact external measurements.
What size do I actually need?+
40 × 30 × 20 cm is the number that matters. It is the free under-seat allowance on Ryanair, Wizz Air, Jet2, Vueling, TUI and Transavia, so a bag built to it travels free on six airlines. easyJet is more generous at 45 × 36 × 20 cm, and Eurowings allows 40 × 30 × 25 cm. British Airways, Lufthansa, Iberia and KLM cap the free item at 40 × 30 × 15 cm, so a 20 cm-deep bag goes in their cabin allowance instead.
Will a budget-friendly bag pass the gate sizer?+
It passes if it is the right size and you do not over-stuff it. Gate sizers measure the outside of the bag with handles, wheels and bulging front pockets included. Bags made exactly to the limit have no margin, so pack them flat rather than round. Every size on this page is checked against the published allowance in our Fit Checker before it goes on sale.
How much does the wrong bag cost at the gate?+
More than the bag, on every airline that charges for it. A bag that has to be checked at the gate is billed at the airline's own published oversize rate, and on the low-cost carriers that is routinely several times the price of the bags on this page — which is the whole argument for buying the right size first. The charge currently published by each airline is in the table above, taken from that airline's own baggage policy.
Is delivery free?+
FREE Express UK delivery on every order over £5, which covers every bag on this page. Orders placed before 1pm Monday to Friday are dispatched the same day, Next Day Delivery is £4.99 and EU delivery is £9.99. Returns are accepted for 14 days on unused items.
Can one bag cover several airlines?+
Yes, and it is the most economical way to buy. A bag made to 40 × 30 × 20 cm is inside the free allowance of ten of the fifteen airlines we track and inside the paid cabin allowance of the rest. Something smaller, around 36 × 26 × 14 cm, travels free on all fifteen. Use the Fit Checker to see exactly where any size stands before you buy.